


scavenger hunt

by onlyeverthus



Category: Glee
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-14
Updated: 2013-08-14
Packaged: 2017-12-23 12:05:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/926202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyeverthus/pseuds/onlyeverthus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tina follows a literary scavenger hunt in a bookstore in New Haven and finds a new friend named Quinn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	scavenger hunt

The door closes with a sharp snap, and a small smile curves Tina’s lips at the tinkle of the bell overhead.

Inhaling deeply, her smile widens as she descends the two steps into the main portion of the shop. She loves bookstores of any kind, and while the big chain bookstores hold the promise of almost certainly finding what you want, it’s the small, independent ones she really adores.

Especially older ones like this one. It’s the smell of the books, that warm tang of knowledge and information, new characters and worlds to be discovered, and the tall bookshelves and narrow aisles, holding innumerable treasures just waiting for her.

This shop is good about having some of the more popular titles in addition to the lesser known, sometimes hard to find ones, and today, Tina is in search of both. She has a few titles in mind, though she mostly only wants to browse and see what calls to her, and then maybe find a table in the café in the back and sip a cup of tea as she flips through one of her new finds.

The small children’s section is first, to find a favorite book from her childhood. She tugs it from the shelf when she sees it, smiling again as she looks at the cover: _A Wrinkle in Time_ by Madeleine L’Engle. She hasn’t read it in years, but the urge to give it another go hit her recently, and she decided she needed to go out and buy a new copy since she lost her original one years ago.

As she flips through the pages, she notices a slip of paper flutter to the floor.

A curious frown creases her brow and she bends to retrieve the paper, reading it as she straightens.

_A new way of finding new friends, or at least I’m hoping. A literary scavenger hunt, if you’re up to it. First clue: “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” Do you even need a clue? Too easy, but had to be included._

Tina’s smile returns, her curiosity piqued, and she scans the shelves before finding a copy of _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone_. She tugs one of the three out and flips through it until the next slip of paper presents itself.

_"It was a pleasure to burn." The temperature at which books burn._

Tina contemplates it for a moment, and then makes a sound of recognition as she starts towards the fiction section.

"Bradbury, Bradbury," she murmurs, eyes flicking over the titles before finally lighting on a cluster of three copies of _Fahrenheit 451_.

The clue isn’t in the first one, but she finds it in the second one, and absently adds the book to the stack in her arms as she reads the clue.

_"My name is Kathy H." Carers and donors and hold me. Became a movie with Spider-Man._

Tina frowns, momentarily stumped. “Spider-Man? Tobey Maguire? No, not that one. The newer one. Andrew Garfield, that’s it.”

She considers the clue a moment longer, whispering to herself, and then it hits her, making her eyebrows rise. Whoever this person is – a girl, Tina suspects, judging by the handwriting – they might make a good friend indeed.

_Never Let Me Go_ by Kazuo Ishiguro gets added to the books in her arms as she reads the next clue.

_"I was thirty-seven then, strapped in my seat as the huge 747 plunged through dense cloud cover on approach to the Hamburg airport." Coming of age, though a different age. Different time. Different place. Into the woods._

"Into the woods," Tina murmurs, reading the clue again.

She glances at the books cradled in the crook of her elbow, and her mouth twists as she considers the clue before walking down the aisle once more.

There’s just one copy of _Norwegian Wood_ by Haruki Murakami, and she pulls it out, finding the clue inside before adding the book to her stack.

_If you’ve made it this far, come find me in the café._

An anticipatory grin curves Tina’s mouth, and she makes her way to the back of the shop.

The small café is sparsely populated: a college-age boy in the back corner, staring intently at his laptop, a couple chatting quietly over coffee, and an older man with his head bent over a book, a mug of something at his fingertips.

Tina frowns, feeling like these clues weren’t left by any of these people and starting to wonder if she had somehow followed the clues of a long forgotten scavenger hunt.

Then the man stands, shuffling back over to the counter to get a refill on his drink, and reveals a young blonde woman at the table behind him.

Tina bites down on her lip as she stares at the woman, unconsciously tightening her grip on the books in her arms.

The blonde’s head is bowed over the book on the table in front of her, but from what Tina can see, there’s no doubt that she’s beautiful. Her long hair is pulled to one side, lying over the shoulder of her dark blue dress, and Tina finds her gaze dropping to the girl’s bare legs, crossed at the knee, her suspended foot swinging gently back and forth.

It’s the first time Tina’s felt any kind of attraction to another girl, and it makes her frown, wondering what it could mean.

_Don’t get too far ahead of yourself_ , she thinks. _She only said she was looking for a friend, just start there._

With a deep breath, she climbs the two steps that mirror the front of the shop, and approaches the other woman’s table.

"My – my favorite is _A Wild Sheep Chase_ ,” she says quietly by way of greeting.

The woman looks up, startled, and Tina offers a small smile, trying not to stare, even though the other girl is just as beautiful as Tina suspected. Her hazel eyes are clear and bright, framed by long, dark eyelashes, and her lips are full and soft-looking, parted slightly in surprise.

Her gaze flicks to the books in Tina’s arms, and her expression relaxes, a wide smile curving her lips.

"You found my little treasure hunt," she murmurs, sitting back in her seat.

_I found the treasure_ , Tina thinks, and smiles back.

"I did. Came in to find a copy of _A Wrinkle in Time_ , and came across your first clue. You said you wanted to find new friends.”

The girl nods, still smiling. “Why don’t you get something to drink and join me?”

"Sure," Tina replies, carefully setting down the books before turning and heading for the counter.

She returns to the table a few minutes later with a mug of tea and a large blueberry muffin, and settles in the seat across from the woman.

"Suppose I should’ve started with this, but I’m Tina."

The blonde girl laughs. “I’m Quinn, and you have excellent taste in books.”

Tina grins a little shyly. “So do you.”

Quinn tilts her head to the side. “Maybe it’s a weird way to find friends, but honestly, I’ve been in New Haven for over a year, and while I’ve made friends, I haven’t really _connected_ with anybody, you know?”

Tina nods. “I just moved here a couple months ago, but I know what you mean.”

Quinn smiles. “Do you go to Yale?”

Tina nods again, picking off a piece of muffin and popping it into her mouth. “Yeah, just started.”

"I’m there too," Quinn replies, tearing off her own bite of muffin when Tina offers it to her. "A year ahead. I’m surprised I haven’t seen you around."

Tina shrugs. “I’m kind of shy. Not a huge fan of going out, or going to parties or anything like that. Especially since I don’t really know anybody.”

"Well," Quinn says, raising her eyebrows, a smile playing on her lips, "you do now."

"Yeah," Tina replies softly, staring at Quinn a moment before lowering her gaze.

They talk about books for a little while until the conversation shifts to other topics, and then leave the shop together almost three hours later, Tina’s bag of books dangling from her fingers.

"I honestly never thought I’d find someone who knew all five of those books," Quinn says as they make their way slowly down the sidewalk.

Tina laughs and shrugs. “You tend to read a lot when you don’t have many friends.”

Quinn hums her agreement, and Tina glances over at her, finding it hard to believe that someone as beautiful and charismatic as Quinn wouldn’t have had a lot of friends growing up.

"I hate to cut this short, but I have a study group thing," Quinn murmurs, gesturing in the direction of the school.

"Right, of course," Tina says with a quick nod.

"Dinner tonight?"

It’s the last thing Tina expects her to say, and there’s a certain hopeful look on Quinn’s face that makes Tina’s heart flutter in her chest.

"Ye – yeah, sure."

"Sage at seven?"

The flutter increases, because this is starting to sound very much like Quinn is asking her on a date, but she doesn’t want to ask and embarrass herself if she’s wrong.

Instead she nods. “Yeah, that sounds great.”

Quinn smiles. “Then I’ll see you tonight.”

———

Another three hours is spent at dinner, and it soon becomes evident that it really is a date. Maybe it’s fast, but Tina finds she doesn’t mind. Her attraction to Quinn is still strong, and it’s not just her looks, but her intelligence as well.

It’s after ten when they leave, and when Tina feels Quinn’s fingers brush tentatively against the side of her hand as they walk down the sidewalk, she can’t stop the slight curve of her lips.

"So this _was_ a date,” she murmurs, turning her hand slightly and touching her fingers to Quinn’s.

"Is – is that okay?"

Tina looks up at her, and her smile widens at the uncertain, but hopeful, look on Quinn’s face.

"Yeah, it’s okay."

Quinn smiles, relieved, and Tina reaches for her hand, carefully linking their fingers together.

"I’ve never done this before," Quinn admits. "With a girl, I mean. And I guess it’s a little sudden, since we only met today, but – there’s something about you. You’re smart, and beautiful, and sweet. I could tell you liked me while we were at the bookstore, and it was strange to realize the feeling was mutual."

"Yeah, I haven’t either," Tina says. "I was surprised at how attracted I was to you, and I’m really glad you asked me out first, because I probably never would’ve gotten up the nerve to do it myself."

Quinn laughs, lightly squeezing Tina’s fingers, and then shakes her head.

"I set up that scavenger hunt just to find a friend who I could maybe have a real connection with. I didn’t expect this." Her thumb rubs against Tina’s hand. "I like it though."

"Me too," Tina says quietly, returning Quinn’s smile as she looks over at her.

Tina’s apartment is the closest, and Quinn walks her to her door, smiling as they turn to face each other.

"I had a lot of fun with you today," Quinn says, still holding on to Tina’s fingers. "Whatever this is between us, I know it’s new for both of us, but I hope we can do this again. I – I kind of like the idea of dating you."

"So do I," Tina replies, some of her shyness returning as she smiles.

Quinn smiles back, and reluctantly lets go of Tina’s hand. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Tina nods, and then, seized by a sudden burst of impulsiveness she’s not used to feeling, grabs Quinn’s hand again and pulls her back around.

Quinn looks at her, eyes slightly wide, and Tina steps close to her, biting her lip as she stares up at her, gaze flicking back and forth between Quinn’s eyes and mouth.

As quickly as it came, Tina’s nerve begins to slip away like sand through her fingers, and she’s about to step back when Quinn dips her head and presses a gentle kiss to Tina’s lips.

"Thank you," Tina whispers when Quinn pulls away, and smiles when she hears the other girl laugh softly.

"Good night, Tina."

"Good night, Quinn."

With one final smile, Quinn walks down the corridor to the elevator, and it’s with a broad smile that Tina turns to open her apartment door.


End file.
